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Psychopaths

What is a psychopath?

Psychopaths are people lacking the capacity for empathy. This is the primary and defining characteristic of psychopathy. The term sociopath is sometimes used, but they refer to the same thing. Sociopath is used by some to emphazise the destructive effects of psychopathy on society. These terms are interchangeable. They can also be referred to as intra-species predators or intra-species parasites.

Psychopathy isn't included in the DSM. The DSM is written to identify what is socially unacceptable and what you can bill insurance for more than to identify what is actually wrong with people. Psychologists also dont want psychopaths to be able use their diagnosis to plead insanity and avoid acountability for crimes. Most psychopaths are entirely undiagnosed or are diagnosed with other mental illnesses, which may or may not be present, but are then used as an excuse to cover for their psychopathy and resulting behavior. People who try to love them often are far too accepting of these excuses, to their own and others detriment.

The most obvious psychopaths (think serial killers) are commonly diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial personality disorder requires repeated observations of criminal activity, among other criteria. Other diagnoses commonly given to psychopaths include borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance abuse disorder.

Psychopathy is a permanent condition, and can be present from birth or caused by brain damage later in life. The brains of psychopaths are neurologically distinct, and their lack of empathetic response is visible through medical imaging of the brain. Mirror neurons are absent or non functional, resulting in lacking brain activity in the regions related to empathy and self control. This cannot be "cured", and no amount of effort or medical intervention can grant them the capacity for empathy.

Why is it important to identify them?

  • they cannot be trusted
  • they are dangerous and parasitic
  • they are often manipulative
  • they normalize psychopathic behavior
  • they damage every part of society
  • they are everywhere
  • they usually get a pass and go unnoticed
  • you are never safe with them around
  • this is why we cant have nice things
  • they are the final boss of SoCiEtY

How do you spot a psychopath?

    The primary and defining characteristic of psychopathy is the incapacity for empathy.

Common secondary characteristics:

Secondary characteristics of psychopathy are characteristics that are caused wholly or in part by a persons psychopathy. This is useful for helping to gauge how likely a person is to be a psychopath when you dont have the opportunity to properly evaluate them or scan their brains to be certain. It also helps you know what to be prepared for when dealing with them. Dr. Robert Hare developed the psychopath checklist using secondary characteristics to diagnose psychopathy in the 1970s. It is imperfect but still useful, and was used as the basis for the list below.

  • grandiose sense of self
  • lack of remorse/guilt
  • parasitic lifestyle and/or transactional relationships
  • frequent dishonesty
  • narcissism (image-conscious, never wrong)
  • attracted to hierarchy and domination
  • unreliability, irresponsibility, neglect
  • difficulty maintaining relationships
  • promiscuity (irresponsible and inconsiderate sexual behavior)
  • cold language where there should be warmth
  • manipulative and/or superficially charming
  • impulsivity/poor planning and risk management
  • thrill-seeking, easily bored, needs stimulation (starts arguments, does drugs, daredevil tendencies, etc)
  • projection/hypocrisy (they often accuse and criticize others for behavior they themselves engage in)
  • prioritize power and status (money, vanity, etc)
  • excessive/prolonged eye contact (it doesnt make them uncomfortable like it does most people)
  • mimicry (they often mimic others in situations where the appropriate behavior doesnt come naturally to them due to their psychopathy)
  • shallow emotions
  • facial etching indictors
  • sadism (enjoys making others suffer)
  • Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Examples of Psychopaths

Example 1: Nazis

“Evil, I think, is the Absence of Empathy”
This quote is from Gustave Gilbert, the psychologist who interviewed Nazis imprisoned during the Nuremberg Trials after WWII. They came from all backgrounds, all walks of life. Gilbert concluded the one trait they all shared was a lack of empathy. They were psychopaths. One of the things that makes Nazis so confusing is that we think of them as a group unified by ideology, but they actually weren't. Much like today, they were an eclectic group of assholes unified only by hate and will to power. They had conflicting ideologies, but the conflicts didn't mean anything because they didn't believe in reality or care about consistency. Fascism is more of an abuse tactic than an ideology.

Example 2: CEOs

The fuckers who maximize profits at the expense of others health and happiness. The types of people who work to deny more health insurance to increase profit, embezzle peoples retirement funds, or subject employees to deadly work conditions to save money.

Example 3: Family

Deadbeat dads, cult parents, pageant moms, racist cousins, pedo uncles, parasitic adult children, perpetual fuckup siblings, etc.

Other Examples

"dark triad" personalities, the villains in subreddits like r/amithedevil, r/entitledpeople, and r/raisedbynarcissists

The Psychopaths Mindset

Psychopaths consider life a game to be played and "won" at the expense of others. Inflicting harm, whether it be psychological, physical, or financial, is acceptable to them. They are exclusively self-serving and only feel remorse for themselves.

Psychopaths aren't capable of love, but that doesn't stop them from involving unsuspecting people in pseudo-relationships that have devastating consequences.

Psychopaths don't actually believe in anything. Reality is just an improv prompt to these people. Its an obstacle they need to get past, a narrative they simply need to rewrite. They don't understand or respect it.

Psychopaths have varying degrees of awareness of their nature. Some view it as a strength and are very up front about it, even bragging about their psychopathy (think edgelord school shooter). Those who view it as negative for their image may never admit it even to themselves (think abusive mothers who claim they love their babies more than life itself). Many simply cannot or do not care to comprehend the concepts involved, and dismiss the question and its inconvenience before even considering it.

The Psychopath's Game

Players: The psychopath and his unsuspecting opponent
Object of the Game: Power and control over the opponent
Strategy: Idealize, devalue, discard
Purpose: Restoration of the psychopath’s illusion of grandiosity
The Winner: There is none

Psychopaths are driven to play this “game,” over and over throughout their lives. It’s all about devaluation. Devaluation is driven by unconscious greed and envy, according to expert Dr. Reid Meloy. When the psychopath is envious they lose their much-needed feelings of superiority and grandiosity. The psychopath’s greed and envy causes hatred, and that hatred creates wishes to destroy the object of envy. When envy is eliminated, superiority and grandiosity are temporarily restored. Its important to understand that envy is hatred of the good object, and greed is the desire to have all the ‘contents’ of the good object.

How To Handle Psychopaths

  • Disengage - Use the Grey Rock method to avoid targeting and conflict. Do not engage with them. Be as unremarkable and unresponsive as possible. Give them nothing to work with, so they lose interest. This is especially useful for people in the unfortunate position of sharing living space with a psychopath.
  • Delegitimize - make sure they aren't taken seriously in any way except as a threat. Do not give them excessive attention, especially in response to bad behavior. When they are brought up, its good to mock and/or shame them.
  • Deplatform - do not host, purchase, or signal boost their content.
  • Distract - redirect their energy and attention to reduce the harm they cause.
  • Disempower - remove and ban them from power of any kind
  • Dissolve - dissolve their social networks

Do not attempt to reason or connect with them. Do not expect them to act rationally. Know that they cannot change. Never trust them. They are not like us.

The Ugly Truth

We have all met psychopaths. We almost certainly didn't realize what we were seeing. Most of us have at least one psychopath in our immediate family that goes unnoticed for what they are. It is especially difficult to realize and accept that your parent, your child or your partner is a psychopath. But it is essential for your safety and sanity to protect yourself from these people, especially in authoritarian or other dangerous settings. They are everywhere, and make up somewhere between 10% and 30% of the population.

The Good News

The first bit of good news is that psychopaths do not feel as deeply as we do, including suffering. You never have to feel bad for dealing with a psychopath however is necessary to stop them causing harm. Embarrass them, disown them, incarcerate them, whatever. You're morally in the clear.

The second bit of good news is that psychopaths are the obstacle preventing us from solving almost all other social problems. If we deal with them properly, there is nothing to stop us from building utopia.